CalArts Launches Experience Design Specialization

The School of Theater at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is pleased to announce the launch of a new specialization: Experience Design/Themed Entertainment within the BFA Design and Production Program. This specialization brings focus to our ever-expanding set of opportunities in new and future pathways for performance and design. The Experience Design/Themed Entertainment track encourages students to develop a unique creative process, as they work alongside artists and thinkers across all disciplines. Students will develop technical ability together with the creative agency and vision to emerge as leaders in the field.

Theater makers are uniquely equipped to thrive in this landscape positioned between design and collaborative storytelling. The practice transcends métiers, encouraging collaborations among the worlds of design, performance, visual art, and management.

"CalArts's School of Theater provides students with an ever-expanding set of opportunities in new and future pathways for performance and design," said Travis Preston, School of Theater Dean and Artistic Director of CalArts's Center for New Performance, "this course of study in Experience Design and Themed Entertainment is part of a continuing commitment to train the creative leaders of the future."

Professional partnerships are central to this area of study. CalArts School of Theater has relationships with a number of themed entertainment companies including Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), BRC Imagination Arts, Paramount, Universal, The Goddard Group, On Track Themes, Thinkwell, and RGH Entertainment. These have yielded numerous internships and job opportunities for current students and alumni.

The BFA Program in Design and Production provides a foundation grounded in project-based learning, supported by a rigorous theoretical and critical studies framework. Exposure to a variety of collaborative practices -- including live performance, film, dance, themed entertainment, immersive environments, social and civic entrepreneurship -- is central to the training. The Program in Design and Production is intended to lay the foundation for future exploration into the métier(s) of one's choice and to pave the pathway to a rich and varied career.

Ranked as America's top college for students in the arts by Newsweek/The Daily Beast, California Institute of the Arts has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools-Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater-CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions. As successive generations of faculty and alumni have helped shape the landscape of contemporary arts, the Institute first envisioned by Walt Disney encompasses a vibrant, eclectic community with global reach, inviting experimentation, independent inquiry, and active collaboration and exchange among artists, artistic disciplines and cultural traditions.

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